I want a Divorce- Taxes!!!

[Anonymous]

This is the main reason I've never legally married my partner. We actually had a small destination wedding in another country several years ago and call each other husband and wife, all our friends and family think of us as married, but for all legal purposes we are single -- we each get our own health insurance through work and for taxes I file as head of household and claim our kids, he files as single. We've done the math and being married would cost us about $15K a year in taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the main reason I've never legally married my partner. We actually had a small destination wedding in another country several years ago and call each other husband and wife, all our friends and family think of us as married, but for all legal purposes we are single -- we each get our own health insurance through work and for taxes I file as head of household and claim our kids, he files as single. We've done the math and being married would cost us about $15K a year in taxes.

This is smart. Wish I had thought of that. I should have had my religious wedding, but not the county issued marriage license. DH makes a lot more than me and pulls me up several tax brackets upwards. I feel like I'm being robbed by being married. We have our own health insurance and such, there was no reason to be married legally.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP who never legally married. The only drawback I can think of is if one of us died, we wouldn't qualify for Social Security survivor benefits. But our children would, maybe even enough that we'd reach the maximum for a family so being married wouldn't get us any more. I'm no expert on that, and we are in our 30s so the risk of this happening is pretty low. Plus, we both have life insurance policies that name each other as benefactors so we would be protected that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$250k isn't exactly super wealthy around here especially if you have dual-incomers with multiple kids in child care or private school...

Um, yes it is.

Signed, someone who makes $250,000.

I love how you threw in "multiple kids in private school" as if that's some basic living expense. Give me a break.

not really

[Anonymous]

2 can live more cheaply than 1, that's why the tax code hits 2 married people earning $100,000 harder than 2 single people earning $50000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2 can live more cheaply than 1, that's why the tax code hits 2 married people earning $100,000 harder than 2 single people earning $50000.

So? When I was single I had a roommate and lived just as cheaply as I do now. The government shouldn't penalize people for being married.

[Anonymous]

2 can live more cheaply than 1, that's why the tax code hits 2 married people earning $100,000 harder than 2 single people earning $50000.

This was based on the old assumption that people got married rather than living together. Roommates are separate and just share rent not other expenses. Couples pool their resources and it is cheaper than maintaining two separate household or being jus roommates but the tax code only catches those who legally marry.

[Anonymous]

I think I've also read the tax code for married couples was structured with the idea that a higher earning man would be supporting a lower or non-earning wife. It's sexist, because it penalizes women earning a good wage. And now gay couples are getting married and hit, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been married for 2 years and for the second year in a row, I (along with my husband) owe federal and state taxes. I got a decent refund while I was single and so did he. Last year (Ist year of marriage), we filed jointly and ended up owing. It was a highly annoying sticker shock but we paid it and adjusted our W4s to have our employers deduct more money through the year.

Imagine my chagrin yesterday when turbo tax says that we owe AGAIN this year and this year's bill is even higher than last year. That's it!, I want a divorce, this is ridiculous. Neither one of us are high earners and we have a little girl so it's not like we are living high on the hog as it is. But to have to fork out money that we don't have to pay a yearly tax bill is not something I want to deal with yearly.

I (and I suspect my husband) was perfectly fine being unmarried in a relationship. We only got married because of our child, whom, Uncle Sam now says that we can only claim a minimal child credit deduction for because we 'earn too much'. Whaaaaatt?

I am filing for divorce. This is bullshit.

+10000!!! Unless you own a home and/or have multiple children, you're gonna owe. It's ridiculous. But my neighbor with 7 kids working 10 hours a week will get a 10K refund in addition to housing voucher, food stamps, medicaid, etc.

Yep. Welcome to Obama's country. Where you are subsidizing those that make less than you and have more kids. We all just need to get used to the idea that everyone must make around the same salary in this country - being too rich is just bad, bad, bad so you must give some back so it all evens out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most programs like Turbo Tax can help you adjust your withholdings. We use it to adjust so that we owe nothing and get very little refund either. I'd rather have my money come to me throughout the year than be refunded.

My dad explained this to me with my first job. My refund is $400, which means I got my money throughout the year. Next year will be nice since I returned to grad school this January.

I like to owe money to the gov't. I don't want them holding my money hostage all year.

Yeah, this. I laugh at people who celebrate large refunds. What dumbasses.

+100. I steer clear of them. What dumbasses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year there is a new medicare tax to help fund aca

Yeah, and if they have to pay it, cry me a river about their tax problems. That means they earn more than $250,000.

Is that immoral?

[Anonymous]

Pair your fair share.

[Anonymous]

I just every year sit down and crunch some numbers with a withholding calculator and decide how much to withhold on my W4 (sometimes it is zero exemptions + extra). You can also look into married filed separately, although there may be some reasons why it works out better to file jointly, depending on your situation. It's not really a big deal---there are other benefits to being married, like, for example, for my non-W2 employee husband to be on my employer health insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been married for 2 years and for the second year in a row, I (along with my husband) owe federal and state taxes. I got a decent refund while I was single and so did he. Last year (Ist year of marriage), we filed jointly and ended up owing. It was a highly annoying sticker shock but we paid it and adjusted our W4s to have our employers deduct more money through the year.

Imagine my chagrin yesterday when turbo tax says that we owe AGAIN this year and this year's bill is even higher than last year. That's it!, I want a divorce, this is ridiculous. Neither one of us are high earners and we have a little girl so it's not like we are living high on the hog as it is. But to have to fork out money that we don't have to pay a yearly tax bill is not something I want to deal with yearly.

I (and I suspect my husband) was perfectly fine being unmarried in a relationship. We only got married because of our child, whom, Uncle Sam now says that we can only claim a minimal child credit deduction for because we 'earn too much'. Whaaaaatt?

I am filing for divorce. This is bullshit.

+10000!!! Unless you own a home and/or have multiple children, you're gonna owe. It's ridiculous. But my neighbor with 7 kids working 10 hours a week will get a 10K refund in addition to housing voucher, food stamps, medicaid, etc.

Yep. Welcome to Obama's country. Where you are subsidizing those that make less than you and have more kids. We all just need to get used to the idea that everyone must make around the same salary in this country - being too rich is just bad, bad, bad so you must give some back so it all evens out.

This was impacting us long before Obama took office. We've seen no change except our health insurance costs increase significantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been married for 2 years and for the second year in a row, I (along with my husband) owe federal and state taxes. I got a decent refund while I was single and so did he. Last year (Ist year of marriage), we filed jointly and ended up owing. It was a highly annoying sticker shock but we paid it and adjusted our W4s to have our employers deduct more money through the year.

Imagine my chagrin yesterday when turbo tax says that we owe AGAIN this year and this year's bill is even higher than last year. That's it!, I want a divorce, this is ridiculous. Neither one of us are high earners and we have a little girl so it's not like we are living high on the hog as it is. But to have to fork out money that we don't have to pay a yearly tax bill is not something I want to deal with yearly.

I (and I suspect my husband) was perfectly fine being unmarried in a relationship. We only got married because of our child, whom, Uncle Sam now says that we can only claim a minimal child credit deduction for because we 'earn too much'. Whaaaaatt?

I am filing for divorce. This is bullshit.

+10000!!! Unless you own a home and/or have multiple children, you're gonna owe. It's ridiculous. But my neighbor with 7 kids working 10 hours a week will get a 10K refund in addition to housing voucher, food stamps, medicaid, etc.

if your neighbor has 7 kids i can guarantee you she is working more than 10 hours per week. only 10 hours are paid.